How to Cut the Top Off a Soft-Boiled Egg

Written by tabitha harwell

Share

Tweet

Share

Pin

Email

A soft-boiled egg can be served for breakfast. (Jupiterimages/Polka Dot/Getty Images)

The egg, which is an excellent source of protein for your diet according to the American Egg Board, is soft-boiled by simmering the egg in a pot of water on the stove for five to seven minutes. This allows the egg white to become firm, but leaving a warm, runny, centre yolk. Once the egg is cooked and the top removed, the egg can be shelled and eaten, served in an egg cup or as a garnish over a plate of food.

Skill level:

Moderately Easy

Other People Are Reading

Things you need

Egg cup

Paring knife

Kitchen shears

Egg cutter

Show MoreHide

Instructions

1

Remove the egg from the water and allow it to cool slightly. Peel the egg by cracking one end and running the egg under slow-running, cool water while peeling. Avoid peeling the egg by placing the egg into an egg cup and leaving the shell intact.

2

Use a sharp paring knife to move around the top half of the egg. If the shell has been removed, the knife should slide easily into the egg top, which is the slimmer half of the egg, and cut with ease. An unpeeled egg will be more difficult and may require you to use your finger to create a crack the knife can slide into. Once the knife is inserted into the cracked shell, it should cut through the outer layer easily.

3

Snip the top of the egg off with large kitchen shears. Shears can be purchased at a kitchen supply store, or may come included with a kitchen knife block set. Place the egg into an egg cup and open the scissor blades. Using one sharp motion, slice the egg top off. This method works best on smaller to medium-size eggs that are peeled, with shear blades that are extremely sharp.

4

Purchase an egg top cutter to cut the top off of the soft-boiled egg. Egg cutters, which can be purchased at a kitchen supply company, are shaped as a ring with smaller rings located on the exterior of the large, centre ring. The egg, either with the shell or peeled, is inserted through the centre of the centre ring and your fingers are placed inside the smaller rings. You will squeeze your fingers together, which triggers the cutting blade inside the larger ring, to slice the top off the egg.

Tips and warnings

Add 1 tsp of olive oil to the simmering water to help peel the egg easily.